ECONOMICS OF LABOUR AND WELFARE

The Economics of Labour and Welfare is in the class of core educational courses of the program and it is meant to provide the students with the basic knowledge of labour economics and welfare issues. It is part of the set of economics courses of the program which shape the economic background and competences of students on economic problems, so that students can gain understanding of the global challenges and the economic policies enacted by governments but also by the private sector . The course will deal with the major concepts used in labour economics and in welfare economics.

Intended learning outcomes in terms of:
1. Knowledge
The course will provide the students with a comprehensive understanding of labour market behaviour (by workers and firms), demand and supply of labour.
To gain insight of important phenomena such as unemployment and formation of human capital.
To learn about the insurance properties, for workers and their families, of the welfare systems in Europe.
To learn the main concepts behind labour market policies
2. Applied Skills
Students will become familiar with the concepts of labour and welfare
Students will know how to read the appropriate related data in international publications (such as the World Bank of the OECD)
Students will know how labour market and welfare policies operate and their effects
3. Critical thinking
Students will be required to discuss the pros and cons of the different labour market models
Students will discuss the data on labour market and welfare
Students will know how to compare the different labour market policies and welfare policies

Some basics notion from Introduction to Economics, such as the operating of markets (demand and supply), marginal benefits and marginal costs.

The course will start with a general introduction explaining also how to deal with simple statistical tools which allow students to read the labour and welfare statistics. We will then explore the labour market studying both the supply of labour by workers and the demand of labour by firms and finally the resulting level of occupation and the equilibrium wage. We will move on to the description of the Human Capital Theory. The course will briefly discuss the effects of immigration on local labour markets.
The second part will be devoted to look at the role of affirmative actions, minimum wages law and job protection legislation, to move to the forms of insurance such as unemployment insurance and other welfare provisions in the area of pensions and social security.
A final discussion on welfare systems in Europe will follow.

George J. Borjas, Labor Economics, 7th Ed., McGraw Hill International, 2016, ISBN 978-1-25925236-5

Nicholas Barr, The Economics of the Welfare State, Third Ed., Oxford University Press

A detailed set of chapters and pages will be available on the dedicated moodle platform

Witten exam at the end of the course plus two essays (at least) to be handed in during the course.
In the essay-type questions students will be expected to provide arguments to discuss either some statistics relevant for the topic or some policy changes. In the more technical questions students will have to show that they have acquired the skills to handle the typical concepts of labour economics and welfare economics as provided during the course. It will be important to show competence in the way the different issues are related to each other.

Teaching methods: (i) Lectures based on the textbooks material (ii) plus essay writing plus (iii) group work to elaborate the material to go into the essays. The work will be guided by the access to the platform (https://moodle.unive.it/login/index.php )

English

There will be a moodle platform available (https://moodle.unive.it/login/index.php ) for the students to enrol during the course. Material such as essays will be uploaded by the students onto the platform and any extra material needed during the course - such as extra reading - will also be made available this way.

written